Sonic and Tails appear in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes

News from 2019.07.20
Archived on 2019.08.16

Big news! A collaboration between Sonic the Hedgehog and the American action comedy animation series "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" happened!
Sonic and Tails will visit the world of OK K.O.! They already showed us a sneak peak on the animation... this looks 'way past cool'!

Thank you @sonic_hedgehog for visiting OK KO! Everyone please stay tuned for the full episode on Sunday August 4! https://t.co/ilc8mubnNv

— ianjq (@ianjq) July 19, 2019

Surprise! Sonic is visiting OK KO! on Sunday, August 4th on @cartoonnetwork! pic.twitter.com/bvLkNQJixA

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) July 19, 2019

Way past cool! https://t.co/cNEtKdnMQw

— Roger Craig Smith (@RogerCraigSmith) July 19, 2019

Huge kudos - @ianjq and the entire team at @cartoonnetwork did a fantastic job on this episode. Don't miss it! https://t.co/KyTElT8Iey

— Aaron Webber (@RubyEclipse) July 19, 2019

And the day has come! The episode "Let's Meet Sonic" was released on August 4th.

Today, people!
This was such a blast to hang with the #okko team!
Tune in to @cartoonnetwork!#SonicTheHedgehog https://t.co/ixSWp0Hcio

— Roger Craig Smith (@RogerCraigSmith) August 4, 2019

Today’s the day! Join Sonic in an all-new epic crossover with KO at 4:45pm on @cartoonnetwork! pic.twitter.com/vueccFHYxU

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) August 4, 2019

I can't wait for you all to see this labor of love! Huge props and congrats to everyone who made this a reality! https://t.co/vz83FK6J33

— Katie - MiniKitty (@KatieChrz) August 4, 2019

The episode contained lots of references and easter eggs from Sonic series! Overall it seems to be received well to majority of the fandom.
Did you watch it live? How did you like it?


Tweets collected by: Tabiki
Texts by: Knuttunk
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#PrayForKyoani by Sonic families in Japan

News from 2019.07.18
Archived on 2019.07.22

On July 18th 2019 in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, an arson broke into the first office of Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) and set fire after spilling gasoline. It was in the middle of workhours and the office had 74 employees preparing for an interview by NHK. The gasoline caused explosion and massive fire, injuring the workers and resulted in killing at least 34 of them. This was the worst arson ever happened since Heisei era (1989-2019).

KyoAni is famous for its high-quality animation works as a result of the company's system of hiring salaried employees rather than freelance workers, unlike many other animation sudios. KyoAni's works are popular all over the world, and not only fans and creators who worked on its anime but also officials from oversea governments showed their grief and support towards KyoAni.

The members of Sonic franchise were no exception.


Junichi Kanemaru-san is shocked by the news dropped into his smartphone. He grieves deeply about it.

スマートフォンに飛びこんできた京都アニメーションスタジオ火災のニュース。とてもショックです。なんてひどい…

— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 18, 2019 

京都アニメーションの皆さん。

今は底知れぬ深い悲しみの中で皆さんと共にいるだけです。
それで精一杯です。

— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 18, 2019

In Love & Light pic.twitter.com/xka8SUV59k

— 金丸淳一VoiceActor&Vocalist Kanemaru Jun-ichi (@junichisonic) July 19, 2019

Hirokazu Yasuhara-san lost his words upon hearing the news and turned his icon black.

no words.. for what we lost today... so sad ... pray for the victims #PrayForKyoani

— Hirokazu Yasuhara (@Yasuharah) July 18, 2019

Aoi Yuki-san is determined not to talk about the incident. She states she doesn't want to end it just by sharing her sorrow with others, but think, anger, grief and pray about it by herself. Instead, she would intentionally share fun things on Twitter, because who knows how others would interpret her comments in unintended ways. She still feels confused and needs time to sort her feelings before commenting about it officially.

触れません。正直思う事沢山あります。でも誰かと共感して「悲しかったね」って終わりたくないんです。私の中で考えて、怒って、悲しんで、祈るべきことです。ここはそういう事を共有するべき場ではない。どんな人がどんな関係性で見ているか、わからないから。バカみたいに、楽しい事だけ、あえて。

— 悠木碧【公式】 (@staff_aoi) July 18, 2019

なおこれは、今呟いていらっしゃる方を否定する内容ではありません。私自身がわたしの中で気持ちの整理もつかないまま、公の場でコメントできないなって思ったんです。

— 悠木碧【公式】 (@staff_aoi) July 18, 2019

Tomoya Ohtani-san is feeling anger towards the news, which was a little relieved by watching 'Tenki no Ko (Weathering with You)' - but he still can't forgive the culprit for what he has done.

昨日、悲しいニュースがあってどうしようもない怒りが込み上げてきたけど、「天気の子」を観てきてちょっとだけ救われた気持ちなった。。だからといって許せるはずもないんだけど

— 大谷 智哉 Tomoya Ohtani (@Ohtanitter) July 19, 2019

Three days from the incident, Kyoto Animation released its official statement about the incident:

7月18日に発生した事件についてhttps://t.co/P76mTHc2cx pic.twitter.com/gMZ1ddIqmA

— 京都アニメーション (@kyoani) July 21, 2019

The company shows deep sorrow over the loss of their employees, especially those who were young and had bright future. They will be focusing on the support of the survivors and the families left behind, and leave all managements of media interview requests etc. to a lawyer.


If you would like to show your support to KyoAni, there are few options.
- Buy digital KyoAni products from online website. https://kyoani.shop-pro.jp/
- Make donation at gofundme page set up by Sentai Filmworks. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kyoani-heal
- If you are in Japan, make donation at Animate stores' donation boxes at their counter.
- Some places which KyoAni animes are based on also started placing donation boxes.
- Watch KyoAni animes on legal video streaming sites.


Do what you can do now. That's good enough.

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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

News from 2019.07.17
Archived on 2020.02.16

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is coming to PS4 and Nintendo Switch!

あのアイアイが帰ってきた！

ボールに入ったおサルを転がせ🐵🍌

『たべごろ！スーパーモンキーボール』

2019年10月31日（木）、PS4®/Nintendo Switch™向けに税別2,990円で発売します！#スーパーモンキーボール https://t.co/kmpbX1FqCKhttps://t.co/DT6JTkrwJ2 pic.twitter.com/vicMh08Uri

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) July 17, 2019

#スーパーモンキーボール

『たべごろ！スーパーモンキーボール』は、ボールに入ったおサルを操作してゴールを目指す、カジュアルゲームの大定番『スーパーモンキーボール』のシリーズ最新作！

『スーパーモンキーボール ウキウキパーティー大集合』をベースに、全100ステージ収録でお届けします。 pic.twitter.com/ooIzHBEjgn

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) July 17, 2019

🔵The new Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (Japanese: たべごろ！スーパーモンキーボール) will have...

- 100 stages in total
- More playable characters to be unlocked as game progresses
- 10 party games
- New modes 'Time Attack' and 'Decathlon' added! https://t.co/Xg1pd8PC3B

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) July 22, 2019

Tweets collected by: Tabiki
Texts by: Knuttunk
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Hideki Naganuma wants a 'Sonic Set Radio'!

News from 2019.07.14
Archived on 2019.07.22

Hideki Naganuma-san mentioned Sonic again! His favorite character is Blaze the Cat, and he showed his interest in taking part in another SEGA game again, saying a mixture of Sonic and Jet Set Radio would be his 'dream'.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

— HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜長沼 英樹 (@Hideki_Naganuma) July 14, 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog is a media franchise owned by Sega, centering on a series of high-speed platform games. Sonic, the protagonist, is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog with supersonic speed.

— HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜長沼 英樹 (@Hideki_Naganuma) July 14, 2019

Sonic Set Radio... is my dream.

— HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜長沼 英樹 (@Hideki_Naganuma) July 14, 2019

Blaze the Cat... is my favorite.

— HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜長沼 英樹 (@Hideki_Naganuma) July 14, 2019

😍❣️ RT @andreslop24: same pic.twitter.com/IWmiBRp92x

— HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜長沼 英樹 (@Hideki_Naganuma) July 15, 2019

Well that would be interesting!
What kind of game would a 'Sonic Set Radio' game look like? What's your ideas?

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Sonic Emblem T-shirt available at EDITMODE

News from 2019.07.11
Archived on 2019.07.22

New Sonic merchandise are now available from EDITMODE! Get your new Sonic T-shirts now!

EDITMODEよりソニックエンブレムTシャツが発売！初代ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグのタイトル画面にも使用されている象徴的なエンブレムモチーフを、シルクスクリーンプリントの多色刷りで表現しました。#ソニックチャンネルhttps://t.co/ohcOJfafnm

— ソニック委員会「R」 (@sonic20th) July 11, 2019

EDITMODEより1POINTソニックポケットTが発売！2011年にソニック20周年記念商品として“ドットライクブランド”で制作した「1POINTソニックポケットT」が、ボディカラーをネイビーと新たにブラックを追加して、“GET READYブランド”として復活！#ソニックチャンネルhttps://t.co/0FyDsyXAqY

— ソニック委員会「R」 (@sonic20th) July 11, 2019

🔵Sonic Emblem T-shirt is also available at EDITMODE! https://t.co/5yx9ct3JWP

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) July 11, 2019

🔵 'One-point Sonic Pocket T-shirt' which was originally designed for the 20th anniversary in 2011 are now available at EDITMODE in two color variants! https://t.co/Awg5xbJiCR

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) July 11, 2019

Tweets collected by: Tabiki
Texts by: Knuttunk

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Senoue-san asks: What's your top 3 tracks from TSR?

News from 2019.07.07
Archived on 2019.07.22

Senoue-san asks you the top three favorite tracks from Team Sonic Racing's soundtrack MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE! What's yours?

Let me know your top 3 favorite songs on "MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE" TEAM SONIC RACING Original Soundtrack. Let's go!

Apple: https://t.co/6axcNQgxIp
Spotify: https://t.co/cGoEpEBIbI
AmazonMusic: https://t.co/O5t7Cjr0tG
Google: https://t.co/SDjSV1L0hN

Link may be vary on your locations. pic.twitter.com/bBp12csXpf

— crush40 (@crush40) July 7, 2019

Later he posted his top 3 list! Did you and Senoue-san have anything in common?

Enjoy your weekend with TEAM SONIC RACING music! I wanna hear your top 3 favorite songs on this soundtrack. You don't have to repost if you did last weekend, thank you! Mine is "Frozen Junkyard", "Mother's Canyon" and "Sand Road". And of course GLR. Hard to pick! How about yours? https://t.co/Q9KMm1w2F0

— crush40 (@crush40) July 13, 2019

Buy and listen to the CD on various music streaming sites!

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Aaron Webber's birthday!

News from 2019.07.03
Archived on 2019.07.22

It was Aaron's birthday on July 3rd! Katie from the SoA Sonic team posted a photo to celebrate it and Aaron replied on the following day, reporting that he's been enjoying Japan for the past week, as seen in his photo from Nara deer park and the tweet by Senoue-san few days ago with a photo of him and Aaron at Tokyo Joypolis!

Happy birthday to the talented and kindhearted US social media manager of Sonic the Hedgehog! Enjoy Japan, Aaron!

Happiest of birthdays to the one and only @RubyEclipse! Forever thankful for your friendship and guidance and patience and forgiveness for posting this hoo boy what a blessing. 🙏

Hope you're enjoying all the sweets today! 🍰 pic.twitter.com/KvPnMICanH

— Katie - MiniKitty (@KatieChrz) July 3, 2019

Thank you all very much for the kind birthday messages and art!

I've been on vacation in Japan the past week - it made my day. Here's a pic of a friend we made in Nara! pic.twitter.com/Ejkmycx7mq

— Aaron Webber (@RubyEclipse) July 4, 2019

Meetup at @TokyoJoypolis
We work hard to make "his world" happy :)

週末は、アメリカのオフィスにてソニックのソーシャルメディア展開を担う彼と東京ジョイポリスに行ったりしてきました。 pic.twitter.com/Bh7YSuoWww

— crush40 (@crush40) July 1, 2019

Tweets collected by: Tabiki
Texts by: Knuttunk

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'Mario & Sonic AT Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games': Famitsu interview with producer Takaya Ōhashi-san

News from 2019.06.27
Archived on 2019.06.27

Famitsu released an interview conducted on E3 with Takaya Ōhashi-san, the producer of the upcoming latest game to Mario & Sonic series: the 'Mario & Sonic AT Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games' for Nintendo Switch!

Here is a brief summary.

「本作を遊んで、東京2020オリンピックをより楽しんでほしい」『マリオ&ソニック AT 東京2020オリンピックTM』プロデューサー・大橋宜哉氏インタビュー【E3 2019】 https://t.co/cmJGlaJaDT pic.twitter.com/uAHv5wg6uL

— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) June 26, 2019

GO TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE FIRST

Original Article:
「本作を遊んで、東京2020オリンピックをより楽しんでほしい」『マリオ&ソニック AT 東京2020オリンピックTM』プロデューサー・大橋宜哉氏インタビュー【E3 2019】
https://www.famitsu.com/news/201906/27178599.html

GO TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE FIRST

'Sonic AT Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games': Famitsu interview with Kasahara-san

News from 2019.06.27
Archived on 2019.06.27

Famitsu released an interview conducted on E3 with Eigo Kasahara-san, the director of the upcoming smartphone app game 'Sonic AT Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games'!

Here is a brief summary.

191ヵ国で競い合う！『ソニック AT 東京2020オリンピックTM』の詳細を深掘り。ディレクター・笠原英伍氏にインタビュー【E3 2019】 https://t.co/dfWqHCjFfu pic.twitter.com/e56bF2IZLZ

— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) June 26, 2019

GO TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE FIRST

Original Article:
191ヵ国で競い合う！『ソニック AT 東京2020オリンピックTM』の詳細を深掘り。ディレクター・笠原英伍氏にインタビュー【E3 2019】
https://www.famitsu.com/news/201906/27178624.html

GO TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE FIRST

Naka-san on an article about Michael Jackson and SEGA

News from 2019.06.25
Archived on 2019.07.23

The King of Pop passed away 10 years ago from this day. Upon reading an article about the close relationship Michael Jackson and SEGA had, Yuji Naka-san recalled his memory about him.

マイケルジャクソンさんが亡くなって10年になるんですね。この記事ってセガがチェックして許可を出してるんだと思うのですが、色々と懐かしいですね。一緒にパワードリフトを遊んだのは本当に良い思い出です。ちなみに僕を蹴ったのは違う人ですよ(^^)https://t.co/rwVoA9NPNb @denfaminicogame

— Yuji Naka / 中　裕司 (@nakayuji) June 25, 2019

🔵Naka-san on an article about Michael Jackson and SEGA:
"It's been 10 years since Mr. Michael Jackson passed away. I think this article was checked and approved by SEGA; many of its contents are nostalgic. It's a good memory that we played Power Drift together. By the way, - https://t.co/yxbYEiJ7n3

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) June 25, 2019

- the person who kicked my seat was a different person."

*It is explained in the article that as Michael Jackson visited SEGA HQ with his children and played Power Drift, Naka-san was ordered by Hisashi Suzuki-san to let MJ win. So Naka-san acted a thrilling race well, but -

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) June 25, 2019

- right in front of the goal MJ did a mistake on control and crashed so Naka-san won. Then somebody kicked Naka-san's seat in anger. The author of the article thought it'd most likely be Suzuki-san, but Naka-san clarified in his tweet above that it was somebody else.

— ●SonicJPNews● (@SonicJPNews) June 25, 2019

To add-on, in the article it is stated that as Naka-san realized what happened (and got kicked in the seat by somebody), he couldn't stand up from his seat for a while...
Well, the strict rule of 'clients first' must be followed... The article doesn't state any negative afterstory of this, so I assume MJ left SEGA happily despite this incident. Pfew!

Michael Jackson was known as a huge SEGA fan. Whenever he visited Japan, he'd visit SEGA HQ and let Hisashi Suzuki-san, who was a very good friend of him, show him new games in developments and give advices for making them better since he, too, was a creator and entertainer.
It is still very memorable that Michael Jackson brought his own project of making a game about himself and made it happen while actively contributing to it. (Fun fact: this game was once shown in a popular Japanese TV show「トリビアの泉 (Fountain of Trivia)」, in which trivias and not-so-useful facts of everyday life were posted by audience. So apparantly many people (at least, non-gamers) in Japan didn't know about its existence.) The rhythm game 'Space Channel 5' series also has his cameo appearance. And not to forget, he also worked on the music of Sonic 3.

His legacy in SEGA games shall be passed down the generations.



Tweets collected by: Tabiki
Texts by: Knuttunk
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